Kirby Triple Deluxe coming to 3DS in 2014

The latest Kirby game is Kirby Triple Deluxe, and it will be released on Nintendo 3DS in 2014, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced today during a Nintendo Direct presentation.

Iwata announced the existence of a new 3DS Kirby game during a previous Nintendo Direct. Kirby Triple Deluxe will be the first Kirby title on the 3DS.

Depth is a key element of Kirby Triple Deluxe: “The stage stretches into the distance beyond where Kirby is currently walking,” said Iwata, as gameplay footage showed Kirby transitioning between the foreground and background in the side-scrolling platformer. Kirby will be equipped with a number of new copy abilities, as well as one special move, Hyper Nova. This powered-up version of Kirby’s usual inhale ability allows Kirby to change the environment and open up new paths.

Kirby Triple Deluxe also features two other modes of play aside from the standard platforming campaign. Kirby Fighters is a four-player side-scrolling arena fighting game in the vein of Super Smash Bros., in which players will answer the question, “Which copy ability is the most powerful of them all?” The other is a rhythm game called Dedede’s Drum Dash, which will star King Dedede in a side-scrolling rhythm-based platformer that’s played to “several familiar Kirby tunes,” according to Iwata.